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Workflow Logs

The Workflow Logs page lists every execution attempt of a workflow action (custom function, webhook, or email alert) triggered by a workflow rule. Use this page to track action outcomes, troubleshoot failures, set up failure notifications, and define retry policies that determine how Zoho Books reattempts failed actions.

Scenario: Patricia, the finance operations lead at a mid-sized e-commerce company, relies on a webhook that posts every new invoice to her warehouse system. One afternoon, the warehouse system goes down for a few minutes, and several invoices fail to sync. Patricia opens the Workflow Logs page, filters for failed webhook executions, and reviews the failure reasons. She sets up a failure notification digest so her team is alerted to future failures, and she configures a retry policy that reattempts failed webhooks at increasing intervals. As a result, the missed invoices sync automatically once the warehouse system recovers, and no orders are delayed.

Note: Workflow Logs are available only to users with permission to manage Workflow Rules.

Access Workflow Logs

To access workflow logs:

  • Go to Settings in the top right corner of the page.
  • Select Workflow Logs under Automation.
  • Choose the action type tab whose logs you want to view:
    • Custom Functions
    • Webhooks
    • Email Alerts

Each tab displays the corresponding logs in a list view with the following columns:

ColumnDescription
Time of ExecutionDate and time the action was triggered.
Workflow RuleThe workflow rule that triggered the action.
ModuleThe module the workflow rule belongs to.
RecordThe record (such as an invoice, bill, sales order, or purchase order) on which the action was performed.
StatusThe outcome of the execution, either Success or Failure.

View Log Details

To view the details of a specific log:

  • Go to Settings in the top right corner of the page.
  • Select Workflow Logs under Automation.
  • Open the tab for the action type whose log you want to inspect.
  • Click the row of the log you want to view.

The log detail panel displays:

  • Execution Time: Date and time the action ran.
  • Workflow Rule: Name of the rule that triggered the action.
  • Record: The record processed by the rule.
  • Status: Success or failure outcome.
  • Response: The response returned by the action.
  • Failure Reason: The reason for failure (shown only when the status is Failure).
  • Retry Attempts: The number of retry attempts made, if a retry policy is configured.

Configure Failure Preferences

When a workflow action fails or crosses its usage threshold, Zoho Books can notify the right people and automatically reattempt the action. You can configure this using the Configure Failure Preferences feature, which provides the following options:

  • Usage Limit Notifications: Sends notifications when a workflow action crosses a usage threshold you set. Available for Email Alerts, Webhooks, and Custom Functions.
  • Failure Notification: Sends periodic emails to selected users summarizing workflow action failures. Available for Email Alerts, Webhooks, and Custom Functions.
  • Retry Policy: Automatically reattempts a failed workflow action at intervals you define, so transient failures (such as a temporary network error or a brief outage of an external system) do not break your automation. Available for Webhooks and Custom Functions.

Insights:

  • The number of workflow alerts you can trigger per day varies by your Zoho Books plan.
  • Admins will also receive in-app notifications when any workflow action crosses the specified threshold.

To configure failure preferences:

  • Go to Settings in the top right corner of the page.
  • Select Workflow Logs under Automation.
  • Click Configure Failure Preferences in the top right corner of the page.
  • Open the tab for the action type you want to configure: Email Alerts, Webhooks, or Custom Functions.

Usage Limit Notifications

Under Usage Limit Notifications, choose a threshold for sending notifications for workflow actions like email alerts, webhooks, and functions. When the number of triggered actions crosses the threshold you set, Zoho Books notifies the specified recipients.

Click Save.

Failure Notification

The Failure Notification setting controls when and to whom Zoho Books sends emails summarizing failed workflow actions. You can configure it separately for Email Alerts, Webhooks, and Custom Functions.

Under Failure Notification, set the following fields:

  • Frequency: How often the digest email is sent. Choose Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
  • Time: The time of day at which the digest email is sent. Applies to Daily, Weekly, and Monthly frequencies.
  • Email Recipients: The users who receive the digest email.

Click Save.

Retry Policy

The Retry Policy setting controls how Zoho Books reattempts a failed workflow action. You can configure it separately for Webhooks and Custom Functions.

By default, the retry policy is disabled for custom functions. You can turn on the Enabled toggle in the top-right corner of the Retry Policy section to configure the retry settings.

Under Retry Policy, set the following fields:

  • Retry Method: The pattern Zoho Books uses to space out retry attempts. Choose one of the following:
    • Fixed interval: Each retry occurs after the same interval. For example, if the retry interval is 30 minutes and the retry count is 5, retries occur every 30 minutes after the failure.
    • Additive: Each subsequent retry interval is the previous interval plus a fixed amount. For example, if the retry interval is 5 minutes, the additive factor is 6, and the retry count is 5, retries occur 5, 11, 17, 23, and 29 minutes after the failure.
    • Multiplicative: Each subsequent retry interval is the previous interval multiplied by a factor. For example, if the retry interval is 5 minutes, the multiplicative factor is 6, and the retry count is 5, retries occur 5, 30, 180, 1080, and 6480 minutes after the failure.
  • Retry interval: The wait time before the first retry, entered as a number and a unit (such as Minutes or Hours).
  • Additive factor (Additive method only): The number added to the retry interval for each subsequent retry.
  • Multiplicative factor (Multiplicative method only): The number the retry interval is multiplied by for each subsequent retry.
  • Retry count: The maximum number of retries Zoho Books attempts after the initial failure.

The Pattern preview below the fields shows the resulting sequence of retry intervals based on the values you have entered.

  • Click Save.

Filter Logs

To narrow down the logs displayed:

  • Go to Settings in the top right corner of the page.
  • Select Workflow Logs under Automation.
  • Open the relevant action type tab.
  • Click Filter in the top-right corner.
  • Apply one or more filters:
    • Status: Success or Failure.
    • Workflow Rule: Filter by a specific workflow rule.
    • Module: Filter by the module the rule belongs to.
    • Date Range: Filter by execution date.
  • Click Apply.

Export Logs

To export workflow logs for offline analysis:

  • Go to Settings in the top right corner of the page.
  • Select Workflow Logs under Automation.
  • Open the relevant action type tab.
  • Apply any filters you need.
  • Click Export in the top-right corner.
  • Choose the export format: CSV or XLS.
  • Click Export.

The file is downloaded to your device.

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